Ok so I know very little about Russia, where would one go to verify that claim? I'm not disputing it at all, just trying to inform myself.

One of the reasons I ask, is related to Telegram. I'm aware of the crypto argument. But it seems (from the outside, so could be a complete cover of course) that Pavel Durov is somewhat taking a stand against their government[1][2][3]. Is that simply because he has enough money to do so? Or is it just a show to give people the idea he's taking a stand?

[1] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-telegram-security/...

[2] https://www.neowin.net/news/russian-government-fines-telegra...

[3] https://www.deepdotweb.com/2017/10/30/russian-government-fin...

Right after he lost control of his company (FB clone) when he refused to shut down opposition related groups on it. He openly talked about pressure from FSB etc. Telegram is not run out of Russia and Durov does not live in Russia. So if you don't mind loosing all your russian assets and living in exile you sure can speak out :)

>Telegram is not run out of Russia and Durov does not live in Russia

FWIW this is bullshit, telegram office in St. Petersburg is literally one floor below the VK office and Durov is regularly present there.

The whole exile thing is a charade, they’ve gone as far as assaulting people to try to keep it up https://m.lenta.ru/news/2017/03/20/durov/